WHY ARE SPROUTED SEEDS RISKY TO EAT?

Outbreaks of foodborne illness from sprouted seeds are common. They have occurred since the 1970's, all over the world. The second largest outbreak in terms of illnesses caused, and the most vicious in terms of the seriousness of those illnesses, occurred this year in northern Germany. Even as the Hamburg-Germany outbreak gradually winds down, new ones have started in France and the United States.

How do sprouts become so risky? Most of the time it is suspected that the actual seeds were the cause. That is, it wasn't contaminated equipment at the sprout farm, or water used during sprout germination, or some disease-carrying worker on the farm or at the packing plant. This means that the sprout grower was also an innocent victim. The bacteria were there already when the seeds were purchased. They had picked up these bacteria from their own growing environment.

However, the chances are that bacteria will be present in fairly low numbers in the seeds themselves. The dry conditions of an ungerminated seed are not ideal for the rapid multiplication of bacteria. But all this changes when the seeds are moistened during pre-germination. Multiplication speeds up even more in the few days during which the seeds germinate into sprouts. The bacteria happily take advantage of all those great nutrients in the seeds and the sprouts and multiply and multiply.

Whereas one teaspoon of seeds may just have contained a hundred or so E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria or other bacteria, after germination, there can turn into a million or more. Those few in the dry seeds may not have been enough to make someone ill, but the large numbers in the sprouted seeds are.

At present, we know of no way to make sprouts completely safe without destroying the seed's power to germinate (see next post). That's the sprout version of Catch 22.

To your good health,

TSF

HAVE DEADLY E.COLI 0104 NOW SPREAD TO SPROUTS IN FRANCE?

It was bound to happen. No sooner do you think an outbreak is over, when it isn't over. It looks like the super-toxic strain of E.coli bacteria that was traced to sprouts grown in Germany, may also have cropped up in sprouts grown in France.

But the French (who saw what slow action did in Germany) are acting much more quickly than the Germans did - and hopefully not fingering the wrong culprit. Not only have sprouted seeds been identified as the suspect food item, but investigators have found that all but one of the people who are ill attended a charity event at a children's play center in a suburb of Bordeaux at which they ate gazpacho garnished with sprouts.

True, the German and French E.coli strains haven't been conclusively matched as yet (it takes a while), and other less-lethal E.coli have been known to turn up in sprouted seeds (as well as other foods) as well. In fact, there were at least 3,500 cases of E.coli reported last year in the EU, with some 93 of these in France (though not all may be linked to food). And there was a case of E.coli contaminated frozen hamburger meat in northern France just about a week ago (investigators say the two cases are not linked).

But what makes one suspect that this French outbreak and the German one might be linked is the high incidence of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) complications with kidney failure among adults who are ill. Only 8 illnesses have been reported in France so far, but of these, apparently 5 (or, 7 - depending on which news report you read) are hospitalized with life-threatening HUS. Even if we assume that the actual number of illnesses is much greater, this is clearly an unusually toxic E.coli - like the E.coli 0104:H4 that turned up in Northern Germany this spring. I hope not.

But if it is, what does this mean? It means that the bacteria was/is most likely in seeds themselves (although they are different kinds of sprouts). That is, the contamination did not come from water used by sprout growers for irrigation or washing, and the cause was not some bacteria-carrying worker or unsanitary conditions at the sprout grower's in Germany. I imagine that this grower is very relieved.

But it can also mean that there is more to come...We have not heard the end of this yet. Until the next post..

To your good health,
TSF

CAN A CAMPAIGN GET EUROPEANS TO EAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AGAIN?

Among all the other problems it has caused (see previous post) this European outbreak of super-toxic E.coli 0104 bacteria decimated consumption of fresh vegetables - extending to fruit as well. You'll recall that cucumbers, and to a lesser extent, tomatoes and lettuce, were main suspects for a while, until sprouts (which are legumes) were found to be the culprit. People simply became afraid to even bite into an apple, let alone munch that unfairly maligned cucumber or tomato. A lot of this summer's crops was plowed under or fed to pigs, goats and other farm animals that like their veggies.

EU ministers of agriculture met earlier this month to discuss a way to compensate farmers and repair the image of fresh produce. One of the several proposals is to have a massive promotional campaign. Many such campaigns already exist, including the one by Freshfel Europe (the European Fresh Produce Association), which has been in existence since 2006 (see logo above).

Some countries also have their own. The “Apples from Germany” campaign had Germany's "apple queens" present baskets of apples to Chancellor Angela Merkel and other government ministers. Other aspects of the campaign were more fun - especially the touring “Apfel-o-Mat.” This was a highly popular photo booth, where anyone could have a funny photo taken with their favorite apple.

I also like the website launched by tomato and cucumber producers in France. It is targeted to children, with quizzes and games (see photo).

City children who have never seen a tomato plant can learn all about tomato production. The campaign also has a newsletter and online videos for adults. Then there are all those other campaigns in other countries to promote kiwi fruit or blueberries from South America or bananas or some other produce.

So if another campaign is launched, will it get demand back to where it was before this outbreak? I have been involved in a few of such campaigns, and well, the results vary.

Anyway, I have noticed that after a food-linked outbreak, people avoid the culprit food for a while, and then gradually go right back to eating it. The chances are that this will happen even before the EU figures out who is going to pay for it and the campaign gets off the ground.

To your good health - and eating those veggies!

TSF

VEGETABLES ARE BEING UNFAIRLY BLAMED IN E.COLI 0104 OUTBREAK

The European outbreak caused by the new and super-toxic mutation of E.coli 0104 bacteria in food is finally winding down. As of now, the official number of illnesses stands at about 3,200 and the number of deaths at 37, including one child. But as I have been saying all along, these official numbers are always an underestimation. The German officials now acknowledge that it takes at least a week for statistics to travel from a hospital to the state authorities to the Robert Koch Institute, which is the federal authority for updating the numbers. (Are they really using snail mail in this situation?). Besides, many people still remain hospitalized with HUS, which has a high fatality rate.

And the blame-game is now winding down too. As you will recall, originally Spanish cucumbers were suspected, with other fresh vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes also placed on the "avoid" list in many countries. Then bean sprouts turned out to be the culprit. But "blame the vegetables" game is far from over. I have yet to see any news report which does not call sprouts a "vegetable" or at least imply that they are.

Don't they know sprouts are a legume? Yes, they are a plant too, but legumes are in a different plant family. Sprouts are related to beans, lentils, peanuts and soy - not to our veggies.

So, stop blaming them! And let's get back to eating them.

To your good health,

TSF

FDA WARNS AMERICANS ABOUT EATING SPROUTS

Only a small percentage of U.S. consumers (about 8 percent) eat sprouts of any kind. Alfalfa is the most popular. But those who do, tend to eat them raw on sandwiches salads or in wraps. They view sprouted seeds as great for their health. Unfortunately, as we have found out from the ongoing European E.coli outbreak linked to sprouts, they can be the opposite.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has for years warned Americans to be careful about sprouts.

Their advice:

To reduce the risk of illness, do not eat raw sprouts such as bean, alfalfa, clover, or radish sprouts. All sprouts should be cooked thoroughly before eating to reduce the risk of illness. This advice is particularly important for children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems, all of whom are at risk of developing serious illness due to food-borne disease.

Clearly this advice is not being followed. We are still eating raw sprouts - including those people at high risk. I noticed when looking at the illness statistics on the large 2009 outbreak associated with alfalfa sprouts, that the age of the victims ranged from less than 12 months to 85 years.

To your good health!

TSF

ARE SPROUTS THE DEADLIEST FOOD IN THE WORLD?

Sprouts (sprouted seeds) have now caused the two largest known outbreaks of E.coli food borne illness. You could say that they are the deadliest food in the world. And, unfortunately, a little goes a long way in terms of making you ill.

In the summer of 1996, in Sakai, Japan, an estimated 12,680 were sickened and at least 11 people died from eating radish sprouts. Many where school-age children.

In the early summer of 2011, in northern Germany, at least 3100 people have been sickened and so far 31 have died, from eating bean sprouts. Hundreds remain critically ill, as the outbreak winds down. Although sprouts were the second suspect, and then dismissed, the authorities have now concluded that the outbreak did after all originate in organic sprouts grown on a farm in the northern German village of Bienenbuettel.

Just a few days ago, the Dutch recalled exported beet sprouts from three countries, because E.coli was found, but not by the vicious Hamburg strain. It was another pathogenic E.coli bacterium.

There have also been numerous sprout-linked outbreaks in the United States and Canada over the years, many of them in alfalfa sprouts which are the most popular in the U.S. Sprouts are commonly contaminated with not just various E.coli, but also Salmonella and even Listeria (see earlier post). The government-recommended treatment of seeds (not obligatory), is not used by all growers, and even when used, does not always work. Organically grown sprouts appear to be no safer than conventionally grown ones.

At the beginning of this year, sprouts headed my list of 5 foods I would not eat in 2011 (see post of January 3). They are still there.

To your good health!

TSF

ARE EUROPEAN VEGETABLES SAFE TO EAT?

The super-toxic E.coli bacteria outbreak, centered in Germany, is ongoing and remains unresolved. The culprit is believed to have originated in something the victims ate in Northern Germany. Vegetables - especially cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce - or bean sprouts, are still the main suspect foods.

As a result, some countries have banned import of either EU vegetables generally, or put a ban on vegetables from Germany or Spain, or on certain specific vegetables (the ones suspected). Russia has taken the most drastic measures, banning import of all raw vegetables from the 27 EU nations. This is bad news for the EU since Russia accounts for about 594 million euros ($853 million) worth of EU vegetable imports a year (2010 data).

The EU delegation sent to Russia yesterday had no luck. The Russian Health Minister remained unconvinced. He said: "The meetings were positive and useful information was exchanged, but until we know where the disease is coming from and how to control it ... the ban will remain in effect.'

But are EU vegetables really dangerous? Personally, I doubt they are any more so than similar vegetables grown and processed in Russia, the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada. EU standards for food safety are very high and well enforced, particularly in some EU member countries. But problems occasionally occur in spite of all the efforts - as they do everywhere else too. If vegetables are eaten raw, the consumer is at higher risk.

Besides, we don't even know yet whether the current E.coli outbreak was indeed caused by European-grown vegetables, or by any vegetables for that matter. It could have been sprouts (a legume - which now seems more likely). Or, it could have been meat, or some other food - or, drinking water. We may never know.

Yes, although I prefer locally grown produce, if I was offered European vegetables, I would eat them. I trust EU standards. And, at the moment we have no proof that EU produce is unsafe.

To your good health,

TSF

ANOTHER U-TURN IN THE E.COLI OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION?

So the culprit vegetable for the huge toxic E.coli outbreak was declared to be (Spanish, imported) cucumbers. And then it wasn't cucumbers. Next it was (German-Saxony, organic) bean sprouts. And now doubt is being cast too on this being the criminal food. Talk of a mess! And talk of an embarrassing situation for German officials. And, a very frustrating situation for all the people living or visiting Northern Germany who are trying to not starve to death or ruin their health, but not knowing what to eat.

But I am a little sympathetic, because of the pressures and challenges involved in solving this mystery. If you have "been in the business" - as I have (among other things, having done bacteriology in public health laboratories), you tend to be more aware of the barriers and pitfalls. For one thing, particularly in the case of food, sufficient numbers of bacteria rarely turn up in every single sample. So you may get some negatives as well as positives. In this case, the news reports 23 out of 40 samples from the farm had turned out negative so far. There are still 17 to go. Let's see...

But there is also the chance - although less likely - that the bacteria entered at a later point. There are still other possibilities as well. I don't have the details on when the sprout samples were taken, but conceivably, it might be possible that the contamination was temporary, in that it only affected sprout crops at a certain period of time (around end of April to early May). This could have been a rainy period, with more runoff from fields where cattle were grazing. Or, perhaps wild animals (which can also carry such bacteria) were running around then, and are now gone. Sprouts do spoil rather quickly, so there may have been none of the original samples left on which to do tests.

Investigating the cause of a food outbreak is always a challenge, particularly with perishable produce or perishable legumes, unless you just happen to get lucky (for instance, finding the contaminated food sitting in the refrigerator of someone who has become ill). But, admittedly, this is one for the history books.

To your good health,

TSF

ARE SPROUTS SAFE TO EAT?

On January 4 of this year, I posted "Five Foods I Won't Eat in 2011." Sprouts was one of them. In fact, it was first on the list. I guess if all those unfortunate people who are very ill with the German E.coli had read this post, they would be much happier today. I wish they had. This outbreak is no joke. Nor is this new super-toxic strain of E.coli bacteria.

The Safe Food Handbook has identified sprouts as one of the riskiest foods to eat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not like sprouted seeds either. In fact, it warns people who are elderly or with a weakened immune system, not to eat them. There have been certain periods of time, such as April, 2009, when the FDA has warned everyone - even healthy people - not to eat sprouts. That is what the German government is doing now. For thousands of people, it's too late.

The usual contaminant of sprouts in the United States is Salmonella bacteria, although E.coli 0157:H7 has also been involved in contaminated alfalfa sprouts in the U.S. , as has the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In the German outbreak, it is E.coli. Both in the case of the Salmonella and the E.coli bacteria, the original source is likely to be animal manure. In the case of Listeria contamination, the point of entry could be during processing.

Will washing sprouts help? Not always, because the contaminant can be right inside the seed itself.

Will cooking help? (Not that most of us like well-cooked sprouts) Sometimes. In the case of some E.coli bacteria, the enterotoxins they produce are heat-labile (meaning they are destroyed at high temperatures). But other E.coli enterotoxins can survive. That means that even cooking won't always solve the problem. And it is the toxins that really attack your body and continue to do so, even when the bacteria themselves have left the scene.

You may think twice about eating those sprouted seeds in the future.

To your good health!
TSF

E.COLI SPROUTS WERE GROWN IN GERMANY

It looks like imported food was not to blame after all. Bean sprouts are now suspected of causing this deadliest outbreak of food borne illness known. It has sickened over 2,000 people and caused at least 22 deaths. And, these sprouts originated right in northern Germany, where the outbreak centered.

The sprouts were in fact grown on a farm in lower Saxony. The ministry spokesman Gert Hahne told The Associated Press: "Bean sprouts have been identified as the product that likely caused the outbreak," Hahne added: "Many restaurants that suffered from an E.coli outbreak had those sprouts delivered."

Today, the Lower Saxony agriculture ministry sent out an alert, advising people not to eat the sprouts - on salads, in sandwiches, or in any form.

What we still don't know is exactly where and how the deadly E.coli entered the sprouts. The farm level is the obvious place to suspect, and most likely, the water used for irrigation, from improperly composted manure used as fertilizer or from grazing animals. Contaminants can also be in sprout seeds before they are even sent to the grower. Or, though less likely, contaminants can enter during processing.

Can you make sprouts safe? I'll deal with this in the next blog. In the meantime, if you have a copy, read about it in the book.

To your good health!

TSF

BREAKING NEWS : BEAN SPROUTS CAUSE OF E.COLI OUTBREAK

I have just returned from being interviewed on KRON 4 Television in San Francisco (my second time there this year). The topic was the European E.coli outbreak. Since this is an emerging situation, I made sure that I caught up with the latest news before I left the house for the studio. But wouldn't it. About 5 minutes before the interview aired the news came out. It is now suspected that the outbreak was caused by bean sprouts, served in Hamburg area restaurants. It wasn't the cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuce after all. It was a legume. At least I had blogged the possibility last night - and identified one of the restaurants (see previous blog). It helps to be a step ahead of the "breaking news."

Besides, I can't say I am surprised. What was that famous line is the movie Casablanca after Major Strasser has been shot? "Round up the usual suspects." We tend to go for the obvious first. In this case of deadly food borne illness, the usual suspects were cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes. Most people eat them. So, if people who are ill are asked what they ate in the last few days, they are likely to mention these. Who is likely to say" "Oh, and there were these tiny sprouts in the salad..." That's why it took a while - far too long - to come up with the culprit food.

This is not the first time that a misidentification has happened in the investigation of a food-linked outbreak. Remember the case in the large Salmonella outbreak in the U.S. in 2008 when those poor tomatoes were blamed for everything, and it really turned out to be Jalapeno and Serrano peppers - and only "maybe" tomatoes as well? This isn't the only instance of the wrong food being identified.

To your good health!
TSF